


you don't play with fire unless you want to get

by AnneBlack



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Abuse, F/M, Riarkle, Romance, abusiveboyfriend, joshaya, runningaway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2019-06-27 16:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15689355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnneBlack/pseuds/AnneBlack
Summary: burned.He decided to go to Riley's place, because Riley's place had always offered him some sort of comfort and the bay window he'd sat with her at a million times before, the window he'd climbed into more times than he could count, held a respect and a warm feeling that he missed whenever he left the room.It was empty; decorations were all still up and it was the same as it always had been save for the dust. Farkle leaned on the window glass and tugged slightly to see if it would open, though he knew it was locked.It had been locked exactly two years ago when she'd found a boy and ran away and shut everyone—every single person that meant anything at all to her—out of her life.orIn which Riley runs away and those closest to her are left to face the aftermath.





	1. the clouds were covering all the stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I'm working on a new story for all you Riarkle shippers that's way overdue, finally.  
> It's quite a bit of angst here and elements of abuse that may be explored later on. Let me know what you guys think of it, and ask anything if you have any questions--I'll try to answer them best I can.  
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Farkle returns to a place he would've been proud to be able to call home two years ago.

Farkle Minkus was incredibly exhausted.

It was an exhaustion that seeped down to his bones, an exhaustion that always made him want to go home—but home was a long way coming, and the drive back from his office was far too long for him _not_ to fall asleep at the wheel. Even for a twenty year-old with ambition and plenty of talent who’d been working his entire life to manage the string of businesses his father had given to him, he made bad mistakes sometimes. 

Such as insisting he’d personally take all of the interviews in the building, which meant running around the floors to get to every appointment on time.

And after the last couple years, the physically exhausting day he’d had was almost as bad as the mentally exhausting nights—seven-hundred twenty-eight of them, to be exact—of tossing and turning and being lost in grief. 

He decided to go to Riley's place, because Riley's place had always offered him some sort of comfort and the bay window he'd sat with her at a million times before—the window he'd climbed into more times than he could count—held a respect and a warm feeling that he missed whenever he left the room. 

It was empty; decorations were all still up and it was the same as it always had been save for the dust. Farkle leaned on the window glass and tugged slightly to see if it would open, though he knew it was locked.

It had been locked exactly two years ago when she'd found a boy and ran away and shut everyone—every single person that meant anything at all to her—out of her life.

And, he thought with a morose chuckle, it was a pretty good description of Riley's life.

 

The door was locked too, from outside and inside. He'd tried before to open it when he'd visited for Christmas and had almost gotten caught by Maya, who looked impossibly sad as she cast her eyes towards the locked door and walked into the bathroom.

Farkle turned around, back to the window, and pulled out his phone to check the time.

He hesitated before he could put it into his pocket, staring at the home screen that had been set back in high school. She'd wanted to have a bit of a memento before they became sophomores; she had taken a selfie with him after stealing his phone and sent it to herself to print out two copies of it before leaving him one copy in his locker. He'd taken a picture of the printed copy with a smile and a shake of his head and sent it to her with a joke and he remembered distinctly how he just _knew_ she was laughing as she replied. 

Farkle opened the texting app and tapped on her old number, before slowly and silently tapping something out and sending it.

**Do you remember that night when we sat under the stars and imagined the future? It was really dark and cold and there were clouds covering all the stars but you said, "Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. I mean, you aren't worried in the daytime when you can't see the stars, right?"**

**But I wasn't scared of that and I wasn't upset about it. I just wanted to see the lunar eclipse, but I didn't know if there really was an eclipse that night because I couldn't see it and I was scared the moon had disappeared without my knowing. I was scared the future could disappear from under my fingertips. That, like the moon, we'd eclipse and we'd cease to really exist.**

 

**Have you eclipsed, Riley? Are you still out there? Because the clouds have been hanging overhead for exactly two years and three hours and I haven't seen a single beam of light from you or even a glimpse.**

 

**I miss you.**

**We all do.**


	2. flame turned cold long ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya makes an appearance, and Farkle recalls what happened two years ago.

A half an hour later he heard heeled boots coming up the fire escape, before a blonde head followed by a petite body walked up the rest of the steps.

She didn't even look surprised to see him, just peered into the room and sat down beside him, then said softly, "It's today, isn't it?" 

It wasn't the first time they'd been here together on this day; they'd sat together and reminisced about the sunny personality that the girl they both loved had held up as much as she could. Now they just sat in shrouded silence, staring at the building across from the flat without so much as a word to each other.

"Hard to believe, but... yeah," Farkle responded with a sigh as she leaned her head on his shoulder and they fell into a somber silence.

He only noticed she was crying when his shoulder started feeling damp and he looked down to see tears streaking down the blonde's face. After a moment he lifted his arm to wrap around her, wishing he could find anything comforting to say that was the truth.

Nothing left his lips.

After a while she stood and left, mentioning that she had a later shift than usual—probably to keep herself from thinking too much about what had happened two years ago on this exact day.

He closed his eyes and suddenly, he was eighteen again and she was standing at her bed with a bag packed and a fierce expression on her face.

 

_"I'm going," she said and Maya stood up from the bay window. "Riley, don't be stupid, you know what he could—"_

_"Lucas won't hurt me," Riley snapped and hurt and regret flashed through the blonde's eyes._

_Lucas wasn't her current boyfriend's name._

_Her current boyfriend's name was Blake and he'd told her he'd like it if she started talking to other people less and him more. To spend time with him. All the time. All day, everyday, she'd shut her phone off and go riding off with him until one day she decided she was going to just up and leave._

_And now her parents were standing in the doorway, Farkle was sitting beside Maya and Zay on the bay window while everyone else stayed in the living room, Josh standing protectively at Maya's side and squeezing her hand at Riley's words._

_"I'm leaving," she insisted and Farkle wondered if she knew how much this was destroying both her and her loved ones._

_"Riley, don't do this."_

_Everyone looked up as he spoke, hope kindling in Maya's eyes. "Don't leave. We need you here—"_

_"Why don't you think about how I feel?!" Her harsh words had him flinching back. "Everyone needing me, having to ignore my feelings and do what I'm told—I hate it! Blake doesn't make me do anything, he lets me do whatever I want. I love him."_

_Farkle snapped. "Riley, that isn't love, that's manipulation and abuse and you don't know what he's going to do to you!"_

_A flame sparked in her dark eyes and the warmth that had turned cold long ago blazed into anger._

_Without warning she slapped her friendship ring on her nightstand, dropped the hippopotamus on her bed to the floor, and stalked past her parents out the door, leaving a silence that no one could either bear nor fill._


	3. hot cocoa and horror movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya's late shift is taking a toll on her; Katy knows just how to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK WITH MANY CHAPTERS AND CORRECTIONS TO MAKE.  
> I'm sorry again for not updating; life is a fickle thing haha, and it's been very busy this past month. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this and the next two chapters I will also be adding to this story!

"You're overworking yourself again, babygirl," Katy Hart said from over the counter, watching her daughter scrub harshly against a stain on the coffeemaker and putting down her cup of caffeine to step into the kitchen side of the café.

"I'm fine, Mom," Maya snapped, then let out a heavy sigh and dropped the towel onto the counter. "Sorry. I just..."

"It's hard when someone you've known for so long decides to leave?"

The younger blonde turned to Katy, her troubled expression softening. "Yeah."

Katy smiled at her, wrapping an arm around the nineteen-year-old's shoulders. "Well, I know from experience that overworking yourself doesn't do you any good. Time for you to take a break, hm?"

She didn't try to protest as her mother pushed her to the other side of the counter, untying her apron from around her waist and sitting on the stool with a tired smile cast towards Katy, who pushed a cup of hot cocoa towards her after reappearing from the back. Her mother shot her a reassuring smile before heading to the kitchen.

The bell on the door rang but Maya didn't turn, counting her marshmallows quietly to make sure that it was an even number. Silence invaded the store for a few moments too long, and the blond narrowed her eyes, lifting her head—a second too late. She felt herself being lifted off her stool and let out a surprised shriek as she was twirled around and set down on the café floor. Maya whirled around, ready to snap at whoever it was—Farkle and Zay, maybe, with their strength and Smackle's combined, or Lucas—and came face to face with a pair of deep blue eyes from the face of a young man aged three years older than her.

"Josh?"

Joshua Matthews grinned at her, winter clouds puffing from his lips as he said softly, "Hey, gorgeous."

"Oh my God, Josh, what're you doing here?" Maya asked, tackling the brunette man with a hug and closing her eyes to rest for a moment before pulling away. "I thought you were supposed to be upstate with Shawn for the winter." 

"Well, yeah, he was, but then we both realized that we'd rather be with the loves of our lives at the moment," Shawn answered for Josh easily, draping his coat over the back of one of the chairs and casting Maya a grin. "Hey, kid."

"Dad!" the blonde rushed towards him, arms wrapping tightly around his waist with a swift speed that gave the older man a jolt of hesitation; he recovered and embraced her back only a second later.

"Hey, what's all the racket out—" Katy broke off as soon as she met Shawn's gaze, her eyes lighting up, and Maya stepped back towards Josh, twining her fingers with his. "What are you doing home so early?" Katy asked, stepping out of the kitchen to wrap her arms around her husband in a tight hug. "I thought you and Josh were going to do some mano-el-mano activities before Christmas."

"Decided to come home and spend time with the family," Shawn replied easily, returning her embrace in a way that had Maya grinning listlessly. "What did you girls have on the agenda?"

Maya started, "Well, we were going to close up here, go home and binge some old horror—"

_"—Pixar—"_

"Horror movies," she ignored her mother's playful glare and continued, "But since you guys are here we're going to clean up shop, go home, make some hot cocoa and binge some old horror movies." She nudged Josh, casting a glance up at him, and they grinned at each other for a few seconds before Maya let go of the young brunette man's hand and slipped out of his grasp. "Speaking of closing up shop..." she trailed off with a raised eyebrow at the two men, and they exchanged faux-annoyed looks as the four of them split up to put up chairs, wipe down counters, and sweep away dust and the crumbs of the day before home sweet home approached them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I welcome the Hunter family fluff, they're amazing and I love them very much haha. (Josh and Maya are somewhat dating but not fully, this will be explained in later chapters.) Kudos and comments are very much appreciated and they always make my day so please drop one down below! Thank you for reading!


	4. she doesn't live in rileytown anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's been away from Rileytown for two years now and, suddenly, freedom seems a lot more lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some quotes from the actual episodes are included; this one gets semi-depressing for my favorite cinnamon roll so a little warning? Enjoy!

"Nobody wants you, Riley."

The voice was familiar, but it was cold and harsh and calculating, and she didn't know if she would be able to recognize it anymore if she saw him again. He exerted a confidence that he had not used to, one that was oily and dark and dangerous.

"You don't matter, Riles. Get your head out of Rileytown already."

She couldn't move; she couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe. The blonde was smirking coyingly in front of her, hands folded behind her back. Riley swallowed hard, shifting, and took a step back—letting out a breath of relief as she moved. She turned around with a sigh.

And then she froze.

"Riley, sometimes, you are _too much_."

She came face-to-face with _him,_ his blue eyes staring straight through her, annoyance on his face. "You're such a burden. You're too trusting. You're too annoying. You're too happy."

"You exist," she said, straight brown hair swaying, red lipstick curling up with her mean sneer, leaning into him. "You exist, and you're weird, and you get in the way of where I'm looking, so stop being weird, and stop being—"

Riley Wright shot up in bed, eyes wide, chest heaving.

"It was just a dream, it was just a dream, it was just a dream," she muttered, hugging herself and reaching to the floor to grab a shirt to pull over her bare skin. Blake lay in the bed next to her, his snores filling the room, but his presence gave her no comfort. She ran her fingers through her brunette bob, sliding out of the bed silently and going over to his closet to grab a coat from her small side of the space. 

She hesitated before she could close the door, her gaze landing on a suitcase hidden under a mountain of clothes. A glance over her shoulder told her that her husband was still asleep; she reached out quickly for the case before she could stop herself and closed the door to his room behind her as she left the apartment, coat draped heavily against her shoulders.

xXx

_Click._

Riley tilted the camera, angling it up towards the starry sky and pressing the button again. She leaned her head back to glance at the screen and, satisfied with her picture, lowered the camera. Her fingers brushed across the strap and she grasped it tightly, pulling it over her head and reaching for her phone after three buzzes.

**babe**

**where r u??**

**come back home and sleep**

She stared at the screen for a second before zipping the suitcase closed, looking back out at the empty street. It was nearly five in the morning; from what she knew, the bus would be coming in just a few minutes, and she wasn't going to go back now. Besides, Blake was awake—if he saw her with the suitcase...

She didn't like to imagine what would happen.

Five calls came through the standard ringtone—normal, boring, and not ear-catching—and she ignored each of them, grabbing her suitcase and hauling it onto the bus when it came.

She'd been sitting in an older but still comforting café when she finally picked up.

"What is it?" she asked softly, holding up the phone to her ear.

"Riley, where did you go, huh?" Her husband's rough voice gritted through the phone speaker and she winced.

"I'm... I went out of town."

"Where out of town?"

"Upstate. I stopped at a café, I didn't see your texts before now."

"Is it already time for you to visit that uncle o' yours? I thought you saw him last week."

"Which was last month. I promised him I'd visit once a month and last month is over."

"You arguing with me, babe?"

"Yes."

There was a long moment of painstaking silence, and then a grating chuckle found her ears. "Come home from Rileytown. You have work tomorrow."

"I don't live in Rileytown anymore."

"Babe—"

She hung up, left the tip, and walked briskly out of the café.

The next time she picked up, ready to argue because she'd been waiting for the subway for two hours and he'd been calling her nonstop, she was livid.

"For goodness' sake, Blake Wright, would you listen for one second, Uncle Shawn's is not that far away—!"

"Riley?"

The bewilderment and curiosity giving him the tremble in his voice took away the anger in hers. She tried to speak, opened her mouth, but nothing escaped her lips.

"Riley, is that y—"

She hung up and stood to board the subway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments, as always, are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	5. she waited for him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Katy have a talk.

"Ah, I have never missed the smell of home more than when I was in the cabin," Shawn announced as they entered the apartment, pressing a kiss to the side of Katy's head and throwing his keys on the counter. "How 'bout you, Josh?"

"I'm more than happy to be with the gorgeous Maya Hunter and her amazing, hard-working parents," Josh replied easily, his fingers laced through the short blonde's. She shot him a lazy grin, shutting and locking the door with a shake of her head and strolling into the kitchen.

"Oh! Shawn, we're out of creamer," Katy exclaimed. She glanced at her husband, an apologetic smile on her lips. "Would you mind going to grab a bottle—and marshmallows, too?"

"Oh, come on," Shawn complained, "Creamer is for the weak."

The older blonde hummed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "No, I'm pretty sure creamer is for the people who would like to not have a bitter surprise in store for them when they take a sip of coffee at nine in the evening." 

"I have to agree with Dad here," Maya chipped in, her voice dripping with mock-sympathy. "Creamer is for the weak, Mom."

Josh shot her a playful glare, a smile playing at his lips. "But is it weak if you want your hot cocoa to taste like heaven in a big mug?"

Katy, Maya, and Shawn started to protest, then paused, pondering for a second—the latter shooting him a look of approval after a few moments. "That," he said, "Is very true." He turned to his daughter, ruffling his hair with a teasing smirk and chuckling lightly when she protested. "Want to come with, Maya Penelope?"

The short blonde wrinkled her nose at her father. "Why, sure, Shawn Patrick," she retaliated, her gaze shifting back to Josh. "You'll be okay?"

"We'll be fine; we'll have the coffee ready whenever you get back," Katy told them, all-but-shoving them out the door.

"Okay, but don't forget to get The Shining out of that safe!"

"It's alright, kiddo, I know the combination—"

"We are _not_ getting out The Shining!"

"But it's a classic!"

"Go get the creamer and marshmallows already, ya goofs," Josh chuckled, and father and daughter alike rolled their eyes as they left the kitchen.

As soon as the front door shut Katy's nonchalant expression dropped and she smirked at Josh knowingly.

"What?" he asked, letting the earlier topic go as she grabbed four mugs from a worn-down cabinet.

"Oh, nothing," Katy drawled, "Just—you and Maya?"

Josh laughed softly, leaning on the counter and averting his gaze to the countertop. "What about us?"

"How are you guys doing? I want to know everything." She flipped the switch on the small coffee-maker Josh was aware Maya had saved three months of pay for, watching him with a coy smile.

"Ah, well," he shrugged, rubbing his thumb against the stubble scattered over his jaw, "You know. Still waiting."

"She's nearly twenty now, Josh." Katy glanced at the coffee machine before turning to him fully. "What's holding you two back?" 

Josh shook his head, looking down as he responded, "We had a talk last night and, ah... she's not ready."

"She said that?"

"Yeah." He nodded, pausing as the scent of caffeine filled the air. "Um, she's... I think what Riley did scared her— _scares_ her. She doesn't want that to happen to her, no matter how good of a guy that she swears I am—she doesn't want to give up her life for someone who isn't worth it, and—and I respect that."

Katy nodded slowly, filling one of the mugs after a few moments. "And you're staying together?"

Josh smiled, catching the mug she slid across the counter. "She waited for me when I didn't know how to feel. I think it's time that I did the same for her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be a bit of a filler but I'm working on some more fun angsty chapters haha. Hope this clears some things up for readers on Joshaya :)  
> Kudos and comments are, as always, appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	6. i'm going down, sir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! This may be my last update for a while as I am working on some background fics and original stories at the moment but I do need some suggestions for what you guys want to happen next in the story so drop one down in the comments section if you can. Please be patient with me and I'll try to get another story out to you guys when I'm able to!

Midway through Jumanji (Katy had insisted it was a classic, too, likely in fear of Jaws—the coward), there was a harsh banging on the door, then a beat and another string of muffled yells. Maya moved to stand up, throwing the blanket off her legs, but Shawn was already standing and Josh tightened his grip on her waist when she tried to follow. She was about to turn her attention back to the movie, but then a sharp voice pulled the three of them out of their drowsy states.

"You _knew_ where she was, Shawn, and you didn't tell me? Tell us?"

"Farkle—"

"Tell you what?" Maya asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, the muted television lighting up part of the hallway in their apartment.

"Riley," Farkle said, a lanky figure illuminated by the kitchen light as Katy slipped into it, his grey eyes stormy and crackling. "Shawn's been contacting Riley—I don't know when or for how long but—they've been talking."

"What?" The blonde turned to her father, staring at him with a disbelieving scoff of laughter. "Wh—how—how did you find out about this, Farkle?"

"I—" he cut himself off, then, rather guiltily, and didn't meet any of their gazes as he said softly, "I tried to call her again—and... and it worked, and she was talking about Uncle Shawn to—" Farkle hesitated, "Blake."

"Maya—" Josh started, but she didn't seem to hear him.

"How could you keep this from me?" she asked, her voice near a whisper, before correcting herself. "How could you keep this from any of us?"

"Maya, I'm sure he has his reasons, but—"

"No, Katy, it's fine." Shawn took a step back, running a hand over his hair and saying softly, "It wasn't my place to tell any of you, okay? She knew that if she were to contact anyone aside from me you'd try to convince her to come home—and I swore I wouldn't tell anyone." He looked down, his lips pressing together and parting betrayingly a few seconds later. "I'm sorry for being so selfish, but I couldn't—I couldn't lose her."

Maya stared at him for a few moments longer, brows furrowed as she searched his eyes, then nodded slowly. "Okay," she told him, her voice soft, "I believe you."

Her father let out a relieved breath, letting his eyes fall shut. "Thank you, Maya."

"Farkle, are you alright?"

Josh's voice turned everyone's attention to the lanky genius in the doorway. Farkle was staring at the ground, hands shaking and face pale; he was starting to gasp for air. "Maya," he started, trembling as he took a step forward, "I don't—"

Maya was there before he could stumble, lifting his arm to lay across her shoulders and wrapping hers around his side. "You need to lay down." Josh was on his other side as soon as they were out of the doorway, helping support the grey-eyed boy's weight without a word exchanged with Maya; they nodded at each other and headed for the couch, where a muted flood of water and alligators was playing onscreen.

"No, I'm fine," Farkle protested, sliding his arms away from their shoulders and staggering a few steps away, "I can go home on my own."

"Yeah?" she asked. He nodded stubbornly and Maya raised an amused eyebrow. "Go for it, then, Minkus."

He nearly made it out of the living room but his eyes were drooping closed and he mumbled a drowsy, "I'm going down, sir—oh wait, he's not here," as he fell straight into Josh's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Kudos and comments always make my day; thank you guys for reading!  
> (Also please forgive me for my absolutely empty collection of knowledge of horror movies I don't know like any of them or what they're about haha.)


	7. every step of the way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Matthews' house at midnight.

" _Why did you have to take her away?"_

Perhaps when he was six, his voice wouldn't echo through an empty room. It likely wouldn't have gotten out of the hallway, being quiet as it was—but now he was fourteen and it had been _two years_ since Riley had—

"She was my big sister, she protected me, I _loved her._ Why did you have to take her away?"

In the kitchen, an exhausted mother's shoulders shook with the tremors of reined-in sobs and a just-as-exhausted father laid his harm over them, praying to the Lord as he'd been since the first day. He winced at another shout from his son's room, a thud breaking through the second of silence that had just occured.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE HER AWAY?" The curly-haired boy in a cage-like room was angry—desperate, his eyes filled with grief and arms aching from the weight of the chair he'd flung across the room. "What did I do wrong?" His chest heaved, breaths shallow; and as if through telepathy a certain not-so-spoiled-anymore brat burst through the front door. She scanned the room worriedly and found his tired parents at the table. "Where is he?"

Cory gestured vaguely toward her best friend's room and she nodded, rushing over with sparkly unicorn blanket in hand to give a kiss to the top of Topanga's head and a comforting squeeze to Cory's shoulder. Saying nothing more, she ran to Auggie's room and knocked.

She forced the door open against a pile of blankets and gaped at the mess that had become of his room. The bed didn't even have _sheets_ anymore. " _Auggie!"_

The curly-haired teen didn't turn to look at her, still staring out the window—like a broken statue in the middle of his chaos of blankets. "Did I wake you?" he asked softly, voice cracking. "Sorry. I'l be quieter."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Auggie," Ava told him quietly, coming to stand in front of the window beside him.

"I did everything wrong."

"No, you didn't."

"If I'd just listened and I hadn't been so clingy and I didn't bug her so much—"

"Auggie—"

"—and I didn't tell Mommy about all the times Blake stayed over and I just—"

" _Auggie,_ " Ava cut him off, clutching his hand tightly. "It's _not_ your fault." She pulled him over to the bed, sitting down and tugging on his hands gently.

He still stood between her legs with a stubborn pout. "But—"

"Sit your _buts_ down, Auggie Doggie Matthews, and _listen to me,_ " the fifteen-year-old hissed at him and finally succeeded at pulling him into bed. She leaned over the edge to find a pillow and found him staring at the ceiling mourningly when she returned. After a few moments she said, pulling her blanket over them and patting the pillow, "She was manipulated, Auggie. We all could've done something to stop it, but we didn't because... we didn't think she could leave. Even though she did." The small blonde let out a tired sigh and wrapped her arms around Auggie, words dying from her throat.

"Why is this happening to us?"

"Because," Ava tilted her head and leaned into him, "Life wants us to make sure we're ready for whatever it's going to throw at us."

"And we're going to be?"

"Yeah."

"Is it gonna be hard?"

"Definitely."

"But you'll be here with me?"

She smiled at him and squeezed their laced-together hands. "I'll be with you every step of the way. Besides, there is no way you're gonna shake off," she lifted their joined and her free hands to wiggle her fingers as she sang softly, "Ay-vah, Mor-gen-stern—Matthews!"

And then he was laughing, eyes shutting and a smile spreading wide as their quiet giggles replaced the anguished yells from before. When they settled down, he met her gaze—for the first time in weeks—and said quietly, "I love you, Ava Melanie Ruth Morgenstern."

"And I love you, Auggie Doggie Matthews."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick question: Should I do chapters feat. Lucas, Zay, and Smackle?  
> Auggie and Ava are the ultimate brotp and I love them so much <3  
> Anyway I had written an entire next chapter and would have done a double update, but I likely won't have enough time now as the thing decided to delete itself from my memos after I worked on typing it down for an hour haha. That means I'll try to get the next chapter up soon and continue on with the story!  
> As always, drop kudos and comments down below if you can as both always make my day. Thank you so much for reading!


	8. try and make it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hunters' household in the morning. Farkle wakes up, he and Maya talk, and Maya is a medium-sized dog at most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this bit of a scene! Let me know if I'm moving too fast in the story in the comments haha.

"Farkle."

He followed her voice, running down the hallways, breathless and scared and tired but needing to get to _her._

"Farkle, please help me!"

The desperation in her voice only made him run faster and his heart pound louder in his ears. He skidded down the hall, grabbing for the railing when he spied a head of brown hair in his peripherals, and sped down the stairs. Farkle gasped out her name, exhaustion laced into his voice, and toppled down the stairs in a flying fall. He shook his head as he stood so as to clear his vision, but as soon as he did he was tripping over backwards and knocking into one of the walls of the Hole at the sight of her.

Her eyes were a black abyss, not brown, not _real,_ as he should have expected, but he couldn't help but feel the hard yank that his heartstrings gave when his gaze travelled down to her attire. She wore her dream wedding dress, one she'd always talked about, but it was smeared with mud and dirt and spatters of red he did not want to identify. But it was the last thing, the last thing he saw that showed him exactly how it felt to have his heart broken once more because he was _too late,_ too _fucking_ late to save her.

Her wrists were bound together by handcuffs and a ball and chain was locked around her ankle, and he could not describe how utterly terrible it felt when he was able to read the name inscribed on her skin, her dress, her hair, her eyes, and, oh God, her _chains._

_Blake._

"Farkle."

He ran.

"Farkle, _please._ "

He couldn't see her face, couldn't hear her voice, couldn't _stand it_ anymore—

" _Farkle!"_

And then a ton of bricks slammed into him and he lost all oxygen previously in his lungs. "Wake up, Farkle Minkus!"

He sputtered out a cough as his eyes flew open and a blonde blob (he determined after a minute that it was Maya) kneeled in front of him, blue blurs of eyes narrowed at him. "Are you okay?"

"What," he panted out, "did you throw on me? It felt like an _elephant!"_

"Excuse me, I am at _most_ a medium-sized dog." She rolled her eyes mock-offendedly. "You didn't answer my question, by the way."

"...What?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

She scoffed. "You know, I could've believed you, but you're doing that panicky buggy-eyed thing you always do. I—you came banging on our door talking about how you were trying to contact Ril- you passed out in the middle of the living room, and now you're screaming bloody murder and Riley's name, I—I thought you were—" she cut herself off and said softly, "I was scared, Farkle."

They stared at each other for a few moments, her words hanging in the air, before she spoke again. "You're twitching." Her eyes flooded with panic as they strayed to his features. "Oh my—Farkle, you look like a vampire, oh my _God_ —Josh!" she called; her sort-of-boyfriend appearing in the doorway worriedly. "Go for a breakfast run, please."

The older man nodded. "I'll be back in fifteen."

"Thank you. Call Shawn and let him know Farkle needs a ride to the hospital."

As soon as he was gone Farkle protested, "Maya, I'm _fine—_ "

"You're _not,_ " she interrupted. "Farkle—how much have you been eating?"

He scrambled for words, and her glare turned disbelieving. "Does the amount you eat a day count for even one meal?"

Farkle avoided her gaze, not willing to answer out loud but giving her all she needed to know. "Farkle, wh— _are you serious?"_ She tried to meet his gaze several times, but he refused to let her. "How long?" she finally asked, voice trembling.

He didn't respond.

" _Farkle._ "

"Twenty-one days, sixteen hours, I don't know how many minutes," he blurted out and couldn't tear his gaze away from her fathomless expression.

She looked up after far too long a time and met his eyes. "Riley?"

He swallowed hard, tried to speak, before nodding slowly.

Maya threw her arms around him and didn't let go until he choked out, "Maya—I can't breathe." She leaned back with a tear-stained laugh, letting him go and giving him a hopeful smile. "You gonna figure it out?"

He returned it triumphantly. "I always do."

She stayed with him until Josh came bearing donuts and coffee, after which she stood to get ready for class and told Josh too make sure Farkle at least ate something. True to his word, the brunette man sat on the beanbag chair, making idle conversation but keeping his gaze fixed on the much-smarter young man.

"Josh," Farkle said after a moment of pause in the conversation, playing with his half-eaten doughnut, "I think you need to talk to Maya."

Josh paused, his gaze flickering up cautiously. "She seems to have been handling everything well."

Farkle shook his head. "She's been bottling it up. That's her way of coping. Always has been. You—I've tried talking to her about this kind of stuff before but I can't—" he sighed, "I can't help her like this. She's not... she can't handle this alone."

Josh nodded, watching Farkle take a next-to-last bite before standing. "I'll talk to her. Hey, uh," he turned back in the doorway, "We're all, uh, gathering at Topanga's tonight. Whenever you get out of the hospital..."

"Yeah," Farkle shrugged, "I'll try and make it."

"And Farkle?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks," Josh told him, a grateful look in his eyes, his thanks needing no explanation, and Farkle smiled back.

"Of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave a kudos and/or comment below! They always make my day. Thank you for reading!


	9. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick intermission with a poem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here to let you guys know that I'm probably not going to be posting very frequently (haha I never do) and drop in to say hello. Sorry for the sorta false update. Here's a quick poem I found on the internet- and don't worry, I have a (sort-of) end! With that reassurance I shall take my leave. Enjoy the poem!

T h e  L a s t  
You might not be the first  
to crawl into my heart.  
kiss me apart.  
or share my skin  
in the dark.  
but you could be  
the first one that matters.  
you could be the first  
one that lasts.  
\- Beau Taplin


End file.
